Buying The Right Gear
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Walking into a baby supply store can be incredibly overwhelming. Walls upon walls of carseats, toys, clothes, strollers, cribs, bibs. Before you've taken 3 steps through the automatic doors, dollar-signs are flashing in your eyes. Who knew babies were so expensive? Relax, we're here to help you decide what you really need before bringing home that bundle of joy. Not every item in the store has to come home with you, we promise!
So what do you absolutely need to have in the house? Let's start with the basics. The baby will need someplace to sleep. Cribs, bassinets, co-sleepers, or a family bed are all viable options. Along with the bed, you'll need sheets and blankets (though remember, loose blankets are not recommended for young babies) to keep the baby warm. If you opt for the family bed, of course, you won't require any additional purchases. If you choose a bassinet or co-sleeper, there are weight/size restrictions to keep in mind. Your child will need to graduate to a larger bed within the first six months, on average. Their main purpose is to allow you to keep the baby closer to your bedside during those early months, and the smaller beds may also make the baby feel more secure.
Security and safety are of course the highest priorities. In fact, before your baby can even come home from the hospital (assuming a hospital birth, of course) to sleep in whatever bed you've chosen, you'll need one particular piece of safety equipment - a car seat. This purchase alone can be very nerve-wracking. There is a lot to consider, of course, but the biggest factor is safety. To ensure safety, the seat needs to fit properly in your car and needs to be the correct size for your baby. That is, you can not use a booster seat for a newborn, or an infant seat for a toddler or preschooler. Sure, there are a lot of other factors such as color, brand name, and price, but they are secondary to the seat's purpose - keeping your child safe.
Along with safety and security, your child's other basic needs are of course sustenance and warmth. If you are exclusively breastfeeding, the former is taken care of without a single red cent leaving your wallet. Of course, you may eventually want to purchase a breast-pump and bottles, if you plan to leave the baby in someone else's care for any length of time. If you're planning to formula feed, then you'll need the bottles right away. Warmth was partially covered by the previous suggestion of blankets - many newborns love to be swaddled, especially for sleep - but obviously the baby will also need clothes. Clothes and bibs are often the most popular shower gifts, so you may want to hold off on this until after any baby showers you may be having.
For that matter, a lot of new mothers receive diapers as shower gifts as well. You'll need to decide whether you want to cloth diaper or use disposables, or some combination of the two. The choices available for cloth diapering are astounding, these days. No longer are we restricted to the flat diapers, pins, and rubber pants of previous generations. Instead, there are fancy diaper covers with velcro, or even cloth diapers that are all built into one piece. Even disposables have changed over the years. But whichever way you go, you'll need to have a stock of diapers on hand from day one.
Beyond these basic needs, everything else is extra. If you want a swing, a bouncy seat, or a pack and play, by all means buy them. The same goes for those adorable baby outfits, and rattles or stuffies, or little tiny shoes. They might be nice to have, but they aren't necessary. My advice is to buy the necessities first, and go back for the extras later. If you already know what you need or can live without, the aisles upon aisles of Stuff are much less scary.
